


different colors | m.c.

by gvitars



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, based off of the song 'different colors' by walk the moon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-04-08 10:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4300833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gvitars/pseuds/gvitars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction.</p><p>*new chapter (hopefully) every (other) wednesday! xx</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. coming up slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meet the characters.

_Michael Clifford,_

_Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson_

_are both massively excited to invite you to their wedding on:_

_the month of July, Friday the 24th, 2015_

_at half after 4 o'clock._

_Olympic Sculpture Park_

_2901 Western Avenue_

_Seattle, Washington_

_Dinner reception to follow at:_

_Benaroya Hall_

_200 University Street_

S _eattle, Washington_

_We hope to see you there! xx - Niall and Louis Horan-Tomlinson_

Michael finished reading the letter and threw it on his bed. Luke stood against his door frame, cringing as he finished listening. 

"You already sent your response?" Luke inquired.

He nods and sighs. "RSVP's were due a couple of months ago. I checked the plus-one box and once I sent the damn thing, Lucy just  _had_ to give me a legit reason to break up with her." Michael flops down on his bed and stares up at the ceiling. "I signed up for so many gigs at countless bars just to pay for a new suit. Now my fingers are calloused for nothing," he complains.

Luke lies down next to him and pats his arm comfortingly. "At least you got rid of her. I didn't like her anyway."

Michael snorts. "That's not gonna help me with my plus-one situation. Louis is going to kill me if he finds out he reserved an extra person that doesn't exist."

Luke stands up and takes out his phone. "I know someone who could help you."

Michael furrows his eyebrows and sits up. "You know someone who can get ready for a wedding in two days?"

Luke smirks and puts the phone to his ear. "She could get ready in a few hours if you need her to. She's the most loyal and helpful person I know."

 

*~*~*

 

"Take five, guys!"

Eleni tosses her water bottle down on the ground and wipes the sweat off her forehead. She didn't need to take on this extra dance class to teach, but since the teacher was out sick, there was really no reason to say no.

"How much would it be to get private dance lessons?" A student, David, slides up to her and waggles his eyebrows at her.

She rolls her eyes and pushes him away lightly. "I don't date minors."

"C'mon, I'm only seventeen!"

"And I'm nineteen. Beat it, kid. For now, I'm just your dance teacher," Eleni scoffs. David tisks and drags his feet towards the door, earning a few chuckles from his friends.

Eleni's friend Gabriel saunters through the door and hands her a plastic bag and cup. "A chicken teriyaki burrito and blue mango smoothie. $10 please." He sticks his hand out. 

She titters and hands him his cash. "Thanks again. Sorry, I didn't know I would get called in to do this class. I should've told Todd that I had an important matter to attend to, such as the stack of movies we were going to watch tonight."

Gabriel smiles and rubs her back. "It's okay, hon. You can never say no to someone in need. Besides, you know that guy that sits across from me at the University library? He gave me his number and we're going to dinner."

"Congrats! Your first boyfriend since senior year in high school!" Eleni cheers, earning a punch on the arm from Gabriel.

"Hush! I don't want anyone knowing I've been single for two years."

Eleni rolls her eyes. "Whatever, like that matters. I'll see you after class tomorrow?"

He gives her a friendly kiss on the head and waves goodbye as he exits the room.

Soon after, her phone rings. 

"Noodle Boy, what's up?" Eleni greets.

"Goddamnit, can't you just call me 'Luke' instead of 'Noodle Boy'?! It's not my fault I was born lanky and tall as hell." A chuckle is emitted from the phone.

Eleni replies, "It's a rare occasion that I do call you by your real name. Anyways, what's up?"

"I have a favor to ask you..."

"Homework? Seriously, you can't get through life relying on others to give you the answers."

"Ugh, no. You're getting me off track. I have a friend who needs your help," Luke explains. Michael looks up at him with anxious eyes.

Eleni smirks. "You have friends?"

Luke rolls his eyes and groans loudly. "Yes! You're not being funny!" he pouts childishly. Michael can't help but guffaw. Whoever this person is, he's definitely going to have a good time with her at the wedding. "I'll just give the phone to him. I can't seem to get anywhere with you, El."

She giggles as she hears hands shuffling and distant whispering. A different voice greets her. "Eleni Crocetti?"

Eleni raises her eyebrows in interest. "This is she. Who is this?"

"I'm Michael Clifford, Luke's roommate."

"Wow, I'm so sorry you have to live with him."

He laughs. In the background, Luke shouts, "The phone's on speaker, you know!"

"What do you need my help for, Michael?" Eleni asks, putting a hand on her hip. What could he possibly request?

Michael bites his lip and looks nervously at Luke. What if she says no? Eleni seems like such a cool girl. If anything, he doesn't want to ruin the possible friendship he could have with her.

"I need a plus-one to my brother's wedding, which is in two days. If I don't have someone to bring by then, he's going to go on Bridezilla on me."

Eleni's mouth goes dry out of shock. "...can't you just take Luke-"

"Nope," Michael cuts in. He adds in a panicked manner, "Seriously, he's expecting me to bring my girlfriend, who is now my  _ex_ -girlfriend. I understand if you think this is such a weird thing to do, I can always find someone else-"

"I'll do it," Eleni answers quickly in an excited tone. "Weddings are fun. Although, I have one condition."

Michael pumps his fist in the air and happily replies, "Anything. You are a life saver."

"If  _my_ brother ever has a wedding and I am in desperate need of a plus-one because my hypothetical boyfriend ever broke up with me or I broke up with him, then can I trust you to be my back up?"

 _Can crack a joke every five seconds and still make me laugh, no matter how stupid the joke: check,_ Michael thought.


	2. sun over the hill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, i said i'd update on wednesdays, but i had my 1d concert last night, so don't blame me!! anyways, here ya go. xx

**july 23**

The next night, Eleni and Gabriel come back from shopping for her dress.

"Why didn't you tell me you have a wedding date tomorrow?!" Gabriel shrieks as they exit the bus. "I swear, girl, you are  _so_ last minute it's annoying."

Eleni cringes and gives Gabriel an apologetic hug. "I'm sorry, but you know how I am! We all just have our thing, you know?"

Gabriel scoffs and smiles, leading the way back to their apartment. "I know, but you know I'll still call you out on it."

He unlocks and opens the door, shrieking when he sees someone in the apartment. "Oh shit, Lucas, you fucker!"

Luke smiles sheepishly and holds up a spare key. "Sorry Gabe. I just thought it would be cool to surprise Eleni."

Gabriel rolls his eyes and moves to let Eleni through the door. "Hey Noodle Boy."

Luke glares at her as she nonchalantly passes him to get to her room.

"First of all, you do  _not_  call me Gabe. The only name I will accept from you is  _Gabriel_." In response, Luke raises his hands up in defense. "Second, what exactly are you here to surprise Eleni with?"

"AAAHHH!"

Unlike Gabriel's shriek, Eleni's is more of an extremely excited one. Luke and Gabriel rush to her room to see Eleni ferociously hugging a confused Michael with all of her might. Luke and Michael exchange puzzled expressions.

"Uh, El, this is Michael. Mike, this is Eleni," Luke introduces awkwardly.

"She gets overly enthusiastic when she meets new people. Don't worry, she doesn't bite," Gabriel explains dismissively. "If you'll excuse me, I need to cook us dinner. If you want, you two are welcome to stay."

"She's so tiny," Michael laughs, unsure how to release himself from her grasp.

"I'll help you," Luke calls out as he follows Gabriel to the kitchen. "I don't like how you cook certain things."

"How bad do you want to fight my black ass, Noodle Boy?"

"How many times do I win every time we do?"

"Doesn't stop me from doing it anyway," Gabriel says threateningly, satisfied that he could shut Luke up.

Eleni lets go and smiles apologetically. "Sorry. I get-"

"Excited when you meet new people. Yeah, your friend explained it to me," Michael chuckles. He sticks his hands in his pockets. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. I like your tattoos," Eleni compliments, shooting him a request to touch his tattoos through her eyes before he nods in affirmation. She glides her fingers across the one on his left arm that says " _To the moon_ ". There's no awkwardness, only a quick comfort between them. "Do you plan to make your future soulmate tattoo the rest of the phrase?" she asks.

Michael nods. "Yeah. I thought my last girlfriend would be the one, but she revealed early on that she would never get a tattoo of her life depended on it. Then she broke up with me months later."

Eleni shrugs and gives him an encouraging smile. "That's all right. You have the rest of your life to find someone who will."

"Thanks. I kinda needed that." Michael smiles gratefully.

Eleni throws the bag of dresses she bought on her bed and begins to pulls them out one by one. "I was wondering if your suit had a color theme to it, because I want to make sure we're matching in terms of not just color, but how well the colors would look together, you know?"

Michael titters in amusement. "You're really into this wedding stuff, huh?"

"I used to be in a band with my old high school friends. The only gigs we would get is at wedding receptions, so we had to color coordinate with wedding planners a lot," Eleni justified. "I dance for a living now, but I still love music."

He raises his eyebrows in interest. "That's really cool. You're like a double threat."

"Thanks." Eleni holds up a navy blue gown with a long cut out on the skirt. "Would this match with you?"

"Louis, my brother, made me buy a skinny black tie, all black suit, and black dress shoes, so I'm all black, Michael described. "He didn't want me to stand out compared to him and his fiancé."

Eleni gasps and looks in the bag. "I have such a good dress for that."

Michael tries to peek inside. "What?"

She quickly grabs the bag in her closet and throws the other dresses at him. "No, you don't get to see it until the day of the wedding!"

Michael furrows his eyebrows. "Doesn't that rule only apply to the bride and groom?" He begins to close in on her.

Eleni laughs maniacally, throws the bag in her closet, and jumps on Michael's back, trying to keep him away. He yelps in surprise, causing them both to fall on the bed, still laughing.

Luke peeks inside, more than glad to see that his two closest friends are getting along right away and better than expected.

"Dinner's ready, kids!" Luke announces.

Michael and Eleni only have to look at each other for a brief moment before fighting to get out of the room and to the table first.

Gabriel rolls his eyes and waits patiently with a blank face as the two squabble their way to the table. Luke watches in with amusement, even more amused with Gabriel's face. He joins them at the table and all four begin to fill their plates with Gabriel and Luke's cooking, Gabriel trying to keep Eleni and Michael in order while Luke watches his friends fondly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i low key wanna bring luke x gabriel together in a creative direction, but idk it would help if i got some suggestions!! xx


	3. daylight still a long time coming

Michael is woken up by not his alarm, but his phone's ringtone. He groans and picks it up after the fourth ring.

"What?"

"MICHAEL GORDON CLIFFORD I HAVE BEEN CALLING YOU FOR THE PAST HALF HOUR!"

Michael rolls his eyes. "I don't wake up at six in the morning like you do, Louis."

On the other end, Louis is fiddling with his tie. "Well, you should, especially today. It's wedding day, remember?"

Michael scoffs, rolling out of bed. "How could I forget? My brother is about to go through an important milestone in his life and he needs his best man at his side just in case he breaks down."

Louis chuckles. "Okay, just making sure. Y'know, none of us have met your plus-one yet. She better be worth putting in the family picture for. Otherwise, she's out."

"Of course she's worth it!" Michael says defensively, preparing himself a cup of coffee. "You're gonna love her, man. She's worth  _more_  than putting her in the family picture."

"Oh... okay, if you say so. Can't wait to meet her! See you soon?"

Michael assures Louis he'll be there before hanging up and rushing to the shower. He forgot that he was supposed to be at the wedding by noon to help prepare, which is in two hours.

 

*~*~*

 

An hour later, Michael and Luke were standing outside Eleni and Gabriel's apartment. Gabriel answered the door with a tired motion, beckoning for them to come inside.

"She's just about done," Gabriel said, handing the two a bagel with cream cheese each. "You're lucky she's the type that likes to wake up early."

Michael sticks his tongue out. "Gross. Waking up late is my forte."

"Not everything is about you, Michael," Luke teases, adjusting his shirt collar.

Gabriel smiles in good-nature and helps Luke loosen his tie. "If you weren't so lanky, I'd be into you. Too bad I have a boyfriend already."

Luke laughs and plays along. "Yeah, that's too bad."

"Close your eyes, everyone!" Eleni announces.

The boys do as they're told just as the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor are heard. Once it stops, Michael's the first one to open his eyes.

Eleni steps out with a tight, sleeveless, above-the-knee red dress with a deep sweetheart neckline. Minimal black jewelry, black strappy heels, a small black clutch, and her short black/caramel wavy hair helps make the dress's color pop out.

He's speechless while Gabriel gushes over her hair (which he did himself) and Luke proceeds to tease her about her looks, seeing as the fanciest thing he's ever seen her wear is red lipstick.

They eventually run out of things to say and the three of them are waiting for Michael's response.

He stands up and smiles in amazement, shaking his head. "I'm the luckiest man alive."

Eleni blushes hotly and laughs lightly, unsure how exactly to react to that. Just like last night, she steps forward and feels around his suit. Michael doesn't know why she does that, but he doesn't stop her. "You look very handsome in your suit."

He enjoys this, the compliments, the touching, the mutual and obvious attraction towards each other that doesn't stray towards romantic, but more platonic. They're the definition of comfortable.

"All right, you play that act at the wedding you two," Luke says, pushing the pair out the door. Gabriel waves them off, closing the door shut.

 

*~*~*

 

They make it in the nick of time, thanks to Luke's crazy driving.

Michael practically dives out of the car, trying to get Louis on the phone as he sprints inside the Paccar Pavilion. Luke and Eleni look at each other before trying their best to catch up with Michael.

"You sure you're not gonna break a heel running in those things?" Luke asks, pointing to Eleni's shoes.

She smirks and begins running faster. "I made a career out of running in heels every day in high school."

The trio eventually find where Louis is and cautiously enter the room. His entire family are already in there, trying to calm down a slightly panicked Louis.

"He looks as white as his suit, and not in a good way," Luke points out as Michael goes up and hugs his brother. Since Louis insisted he would be the bride, he was dressed in an all white tuxedo with coat tails.

"If you had a top hat, I would've mistaken you as Fred Astaire," Eleni jokes, causing Louis to actually laugh and all eyes to go to her.

"Lou, who's that?" A little girl asks.

Eleni blushes and waves shyly at all of them.

Michael smiles and throws an arm over her shoulders. "This is my plus-one, Eleni Crocetti."

Louis, his mother Johannah, and his five sisters look at each other with knowing looks.

Johannah grins, hugs Eleni tightly and as she pulls away, she says, "I know you two are young, but it's better to find true love sooner than later."

Eleni smiles in a confused manner. They must have mistaken her for Michael's last girlfriend. Deciding it would be better to just go with it, seeing as Michael's looking at her with desperate eyes. "Yeah, it's like it was destiny."  _That was the cheesiest thing I've ever said_ , she thought.

Michael couldn't help but snort. "You say the stupidest things sometimes."

"Hey, you know you love it," Eleni giggles.

Luke shakes his head. "You two are  _so_  disgusting." He leans towards Louis and adds, "You're lucky you don't have to spend time with them every single day."

"If anything, I'm jealous of you. They're adorable." Louis says. "So, how did Michael pop the question?"

Being the stupidly confused boy he is, Luke assumed Louis knew that Michael had tried to convince her to be his plus-one to the wedding in order to not piss off his brother when, in fact, Louis had told his entire family and friends that Michael and Eleni were engaged.

"Nothing fancy. She said yes right away," Luke explained.

Louis rolls his eyes. "Romance was never Michael's forte."

"Yeah, well, Eleni sees through that, thank god."

Already, Eleni is making good friends with Louis and Michael's sisters and mother.

"Hey, Mike, can we talk alone for a second?" Louis inquires, taking Michael outside the room.

"What's up?"

Louis grins happily, making Michael wonder if this is what he's gonna be like if he ever gets married.

"So, you and Eleni, huh?"

Michael and Eleni made a deal last minute to pretend they had been dating for as long as he and Lucy had been going out, just not to piss off Louis that he had brought a date that he's only known for two days that will also be in an eternal wedding photo very important to him.

"Yep, together for a long time," Michael lies reluctantly.

Louis can't help but squeal excitedly and hops up and down as he puts his hands on Michael's shoulders. "So, what's the date? Have you even thought of a date yet?"

Michael knits his eyebrows together in bewilderment. "W-what?"

"You and Eleni's wedding, stupid! Everyone's dying to know!"

Suddenly, Michael's brain is on overdrive.  _Wedding!?_ he thought _. Where did he get that idea!?_

The first thought that comes to his mind is the brief conversation he had with his brother this morning.

 _"Y'know, none of us have met your plus-one yet. She better be worth putting in the family picture for, otherwise she's out,"_ Louis had said.

_"You're gonna love her, man. She's worth_ _more_ _than putting her in the family picture."_

It hit Michael in the head. No wonder Louis thought they were a long-term thing! His word in had confused Louis, causing his big mouth to tell not only everyone  _he_ knew about it, but probably his husband-to-be's family and friends as well.

Thinking he was already in too deep with this act, Michael replies, "We don't know yet. It might be a while before we figure it out."

Louis smiles in understanding. "That's okay. No need to rush. Just don't end up having like a five-year engagement, yeah?"

Michael nods, following him back inside the room. Now he's the pale one.

"We should go, guys," Michael says, shooting Luke a panicked expression.

They say their goodbyes, Eleni taking a little longer since the younger girls didn't want her to go quite yet. "I'll see you when you go down the aisle throwing your little flower petals!" she assures them.

Once they're out of the room, they rushed to where the wedding will take place, and then Michael yells into the distance in distress. Luke and Eleni take one look at each other, unsure as to why Michael was doing that.

"Everyone thinks we're engaged!"

Luke and Eleni laughs, obviously thinking Michael is joking. But once they take another look at Michael's serious face, they feel as much panic as he does.

"Why? I don't understand, I thought we played the part as boyfriend and girlfriend perfectly, not husband-and-wife-to-be!" Eleni exclaims.

"Michael's family is the type to mix up how you say things," Luke says. "And get  _really_  upset if they find out they were wrong in their assumptions."

"It's better to tell the truth," Eleni argues. She turns to Michael. "You did tell them the truth, right? That we've only known each other for two days?"

Michael cringes. "You know I didn't."

Eleni groans and covers her face. After a long moment, she says, "You know what, tonight, we'll pretend to be the engaged couple. Then tomorrow, you tell your brother we're not engaged, okay? Because I don't plan on getting married anytime soon."

Michael nods and holds Eleni's hand in assurance. "Promise. I don't want to get married either."

"You two are  _still_  disgustingly cute, even if you're just friends," Luke groans.


	4. but i know it will

A couple of hours later, all the guests have arrived. It's weird for Eleni to see how close Luke is to Louis's family.

"Are you guys like childhood friends or something?" Eleni questions.

Luke nods. "Since middle school, really."

Every time Luke would introduce Eleni, they would always give her an overly-happy smile and congratulate her engagement.

And every time, Luke and Eleni would cringe, unwilling to tell the truth for not only Michael's sake, but Louis's as well.

Finally, Luke introduces Eleni to Louis's husband-to-be, Niall.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Eleni greets politely, shaking his hand.

"Same to you." She's a little thrown off by the thick Irish accent that comes out of his mouth. "I'm sorry Louis and basically everyone else here thinks you and Michael are engaged. It's such an odd thing for him to assume and I'm sure it must be an inconvenience."

Eleni smiles gratefully. "Thank God you know. I was beginning to worry I would have to go through another congratulatory engagement talk."

Niall and Luke laugh. "I'll let my family and our friends know it was all a misunderstanding, but I can't say the same for Louis and his family. That's going to be all on you two to be able to convince them."

 

*~*~*

 

Everyone makes their way to their seats and patiently wait, when the pianist begins to play the background music for the flower girls, bridesmaids, and groomsmen.

As the flower girls walk down the aisle, Eleni makes sure to give them encouraging smiles to ease them of their nervousness.

"How exactly did Louis and Niall meet?" she asks Luke.

"Louis's friends Liam and Zayn had met this guy named Harry a couple of years ago. Harry knew a guy that Louis might be interested in since Liam and Zayn were worried about Louis's depressed state after his tragic breakup with this previous boyfriend a few months before. So they tricked Louis into going on a blind date with Niall, and that was it. They were in love ever since."

Eleni smiles. "That's cute." She can tell by looking at Niall's expression. He looks like a giddy child in a candy store.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle two by two, Michael and a curly-haired man being the last to go up to the stage.

Michael had shot a playful wink at Eleni and Luke before passing them by.

The pianist stopped playing and a singer came on stage, playing a song Eleni's never heard before.

"Niall wrote this song for Louis," Luke explained.

Louis was revealed, arm in arm with his mother. He covered his mouth in shock as he walked down the aisle, realizing the song was for him.

Eleni sniffled, "Aw man, I'm gonna start crying now."

Niall and Louis's eyes met when he made it to the end of the aisle. Michael looked on fondly.

While the officiant began reading off his book, Eleni noticed something.

"Luke, why doesn't Michael look like his family?" she inquired.

After contemplating, Luke answered, "That... is something I know Michael would rather tell people personally. Ask him after the ceremony."

 

*~*~*

 

Louis and Niall's vows were funny and emotional. Out of all the weddings Eleni has been to, she's never laughed and cried so much in her life.

"The groom and bride may now kiss."

Michael's hands shot in the air and everyone whistled, cried, and cheered. Even Luke was crying.

The married couple pranced down the aisle and treated it like it was the red carpet, walking off towards the water to get their picture taken.

"One day, that's going to be you two," One of Louis's sisters, Lottie, says to Michael and Eleni once they've reunited. Michael opens his mouth to say something, but Eleni nudges his side harshly and smiles widely. "We can't wait."

Michael coughs, winded by the impact from Eleni's elbow. "Thanks. I was about to blow our cover."

Luke rolls his eyes. "You two need to fix this. For now, you're the future Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, okay?"

As Luke heads back to the car to get them ready to go to the reception, Eleni frowns up at Michael.

"Who says I'm going to take your last name?"

 

*~*~*

 

The reception was being held at Benaroya Hall, a theater where orchestras and choirs perform. Louis and Niall really went full out with the red carpet theme they were going for.

At the entrance was a red carpet lined with photographers ready to take excessive amounts of pictures.

Before they went inside the main area, they were handed VIP passes to put around their necks with their names on them.

A fake reporter came up to them, asking them interview questions about the wedding.

"I feel like a celebrity," Luke comments giddily.

The red carpet led them to an area where they can pretend to pose for pictures.

Luke dashed in front of them and went first, suavely placing his hands in his pockets and following the photographer's orders as to how to pose.

"Should I smile with my teeth or with my lips?" Michael asks. He demonstrates both ways.

"Lips," Eleni says. "And do a peace sign while you're at it."

He does as he's told, and Eleni laughs.

"What?"

"You have such tiny fingers!" Eleni states, doing what she does and takes hold of Michael's fingers.

He scoffs and his voice goes up an octave. "Hey!"

Eleni chuckles. "It's okay, they're cute."

It was Michael's turn, then Eleni's to pose for pictures. She even adds a wink for flair.

"Work it, girl!" Luke calls out teasingly.

While waiting for the bride and groom to arrive, Luke, Michael, and Eleni entered the theater where guests waited and ate small finger food.

"I came here a couple of times for high school. It's amazing place to perform," Eleni said.

They grabbed some martinis from the bar set up near by and took a set in the theater chairs.

Eventually, everyone was told to go to the grand lobby where there were tables set up on the balcony and main floor. Since Michael is Louis's best man, he was assigned to sit at the head table. Surprisingly, so was Eleni.

Luke frowns. "Not fair! I've known Michael longer than you have!"

Eleni rolls her eyes and shows Luke his name tag from the table of name tags. "You sit with us, doofus. It says right here."

"Oh... heh, sorry."

They made their way to the head table. The only chairs left empty were Niall and Louis's.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you... the one and only... Mr. and Mrs. Horan-Tomlinson!" announced the DJ.

Everybody stood up and cheered for the said newly weds that came in through the main entrance with sunglasses and feather boas on. They arrived on the dance floor and looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

"Now, the bride and groom's first dance."

The song that played at the wedding reception started up again. Niall nervously slipped his hands onto Louis's waist, moving them back and forth in circles as he quietly sings the song he wrote for Louis in his ear.

Eleni notices this and coos, squeezing Michael's arm with her arms. "They're so cute!"

"Ow," Michael mumbles, but he doesn't tell her to get off.

The night continues like any other wedding reception: dinner, dancing, speeches (Michael's best man speech was quite hilarious, to Eleni's surprise), dancing, dessert, and dancing. Except Michael and Eleni couldn't quite enjoy it like Luke and everyone else was, because every two seconds someone would come up to them with a congratulatory smile about their "engagement".

A little later into the night, Michael gets out of his seat, this time not saying any reason as to why.

"Where are you going?" Eleni asks. "They're starting musical performances soon."

She was informed by Luke through Niall that both their families and friends consisted of quite talented people. The talents ranged literally from juggling bananas to flawless freestyle rapping, which they decided to showcase tonight.

"I'm one of them," Michael responds with a wink, making his way to the stage. "And it's a surprise."

"He sings?" Eleni inquires once Michael is out of sight.

Luke nods in affirmation. "And an amazing songwriter and guitarist."

"He wrote a song with his guitar and is going to sing it about his brother?"

Luke taps his nose. "Correct."

Michael was the last one to go on stage after Liam and Zayn and Louis's younger sisters.

Eleni turned to see Louis's mouth open in astonishment. Michael wasn't kidding.

"Um, h-hey everyone," Michael stuttered. Everyone went quiet, confused as to why Michael was on stage. "Yeah, you thought the Tomlinson girls were the grand finale. Sorry to disappoint." He looked proud of himself when the crowd loosened up and laughed a little.

"I'm going to be singing a song that requires some background info. Um, this song is obviously written for Niall and Louis. They were going through a rough patch in the middle of their relationship when Niall had the opportunity to work at a record label in London for six months. They decided to call it off, thinking they were going to hold each other back if they tried a long-distance relationship. During those six months, all Louis did was mope about losing him. Little did he know, Niall was whining about the same thing to me. And I wrote a song about it. I'd like to thank Niall for helping me out with some of the lyrics. No matter what," Michael turned to look at Louis and Niall, "your lowest points are what bring you closer together, never farther. Don't forget that."

The song he sang was beautiful. Eleni hated that she couldn't stop crying. It was distracting her from listening to the lyrics and really trying to dig deep into the meaning. Nevertheless, it affected her emotionally.

She squealed and almost jumped at Michael when he came back to the head table. "Oh my gosh, you were so good!" Eleni giggles. Michael tried his best to carry her weight since she was literally hanging off his neck. "Thanks, El."

Luke tried to force on a smile, seeing as Louis, Niall, and their parents were watching the two as if  _they_  were the newlyweds.


	5. been under this spell

Since Luke definitely didn't want to be the designated driver after he had already downed three large cups of alcohol, Eleni and Michael made sure to keep their intake low for the rest of the night.

At this point of the reception, families had already made their way back to their hotels. It was time for the singles and younger-than-40's to come out and play.

Michael and Eleni found their way to the upper level of the grand lobby, which was basically a balcony overlooking the main floor and dance floor.

"I can still see Luke all the way from here," Eleni laughs, pointing to a corner on the dance floor. 

Michael chuckles. "It's not his fault he was born as tall as a tree."

They laugh tiredly. The clock was about to strike 1 in the morning, and although Michael was okay with possibly pulling an all-nighter, Eleni likes getting her sleep (" _I'm a literal grandma, so if one of you boys keep us at the wedding until three in the morning, I will kill whoever is responsible for the bags under my eyes the next day"_ ).

"Can I ask you something? It might be personal, so if you don't want to answer it, I'll understand," Eleni says, playing with her fingers nervously.

Michael furrows his eyebrows and smiles. "Yeah, of course you can. I owe you  _so_  much for doing this for me and meeting my messed up family."

Eleni chuckles. "That's actually what I wanted to ask you about. Your family. You..." her tone became more delicate, "have a different last name... a different look... am I not supposed to see a resemblance?"

Michael's smiles tightens. He looks off into the distance as if nothing below him exists for a brief moment. "I rarely ever have to explain this to anyone. Only to Luke."

Unlike Michael, Eleni's best trait is comforting people. She cautiously slips her hand into his and leans her cheek against the back of his hand. "Take your time."

The music appropriately transitions into something more calm and less upbeat.

Michael takes in a deep breath. "When I was ten, my parents died in a car crash." He bit his lip, trying to control his emotions.

"For almost four years, I lived in an orphanage. It wasn't as nurturing or fun as I had assumed it to be, to say the least. I met Louis the first day of high school. He helped me through everything, seeing as I was another lost and depressed freshman, to the point where he asked his family if they could adopt me. The transition couldn't have been easier."

Eleni isn't fooled by the smile on Michael's face. It's forced and pained. She feels him squeeze her hand.

"The Tomlinson's are a great family, but they love me so much that they want me to be happy all the time. That's why we moved here after my graduation, to provide us with more opportunities."

That's his cue to finally look at Eleni. "That's why I didn't want to tell them right away that we aren't actually engaged. I'm afraid- no, I  _know_  they'll not only freak out and find more ways to protect me, they'll hate you for lying and being the opposite of what they want for me: future and eternal happiness. Take my word for it."

Eleni frowns, letting go of Michael's hands. "They need to realize that you're not ten anymore and that you can handle yourself in the real world now. The last thing you and I want is to be forced into a long-term commitment. You need to tell them the truth, Michael."

 

*~*~*

 

By the time the clock struck two in the morning, Eleni had enough of trying to keep her eyes open as she chatted with one of Louis's sisters, Felicite. Thankfully, Luke stumbled his way, his words no longer coherent.

"We best be going. Thank your brother and his husband for a fun evening for us, will you?" Eleni says as she tries her best to carry Luke's weight.

Felicite giggles and responds, "I will. Take care of Michael when you get home, yeah?"

Eleni groans internally. It hasn't even been a day and she was already sick of playing pretend-fiancé. "Of course. Bye!"

She stumbled with Luke at her side, struggling to find Michael. "Have you seen Michael anywhere?" Eleni asks Luke.

The blond only shrugs, his eyes near closed.

"Ugh, you're impossible. I'm drawing a permanent mustache on your face later for being difficult."

"Eleni! Need help there?"

Liam, whom she only briefly met during the wedding ceremony, appeared from the crowd on the dance floor to help her lift Luke.

She smiles at him thankfully. "Whoa, strong arms there."

Liam titters and shakes his head. "I guess. Are you going already?"

Eleni nods. "I just need to find Michael."

"Ah, the 'accidental fiancé'?"

"You know?" she sighs in relief.

"Yeah, Niall told me. I would apologize on behalf of the Tomlinson's for getting that mixed up, but they do it all the time, so I'd rather not," Liam says. "They thought Zayn and I were a thing, which made it awkward because at the time, we had only just met."

"The situation we've gotten into is ridiculous, and Michael doesn't even want to fix it," Eleni complains, relieved to find Michael sitting against the stage, admiring the wedding band's guitars.

"I wouldn't blame him. Louis and his family are horrible people to disappoint; they put so much hope in you it's kind of scary."

Eleni frowns. "So I've heard."

"Hey... what's wrong with Luke?" Michael asks as he notices the trio come his way.

"He's had too much to drink and I'm tired. Can we go back home now?" Eleni pleads desperately.

Liam laughs and waves them goodbye. "I'll see you."

Michael shakes his head at Luke and slaps him lightly on the face. "You're pathetic, you know that?"

Luke only grumbles.

"The most I've seen him drunk is when he became a wild drunk at a party last year, and that was after ten beers. How much did he drink?"

She shrugs. "All I know is that there's a free bar and he must've gotten so excited, he drank as much as he could."

Without another word, they sling one of Luke's arms over their shoulders and drag him out the building and to the car, making sure he was secured in the backseat.

 

*~*~*

 

Michael stops the car outside of Eleni's apartment building and opens her door. He gallantly holds her hand,  helps her out the car, and closes the door behind her. Michael leans against the side of the car's hood, looking up at her building.

"Gabriel awake?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "He's got work early tomorrow."

They stand there in total silence, just enjoying each other's company. Both know there's something on their minds they want to talk about, but for now, they let it slide, wanting the moment to last just a few more moments.

"You need to tell them the truth," Eleni blurts out, her eyes suddenly on his.

Michael bites his lip, nodding. He knows the importance of letting his family know of their mistake, an embarrassing one at that, but deep down, he doesn't know if he wants to do that quite yet.

"I just... I feel like it would be a lot easier if we let them  _all_ know at the same time, yeah? Like, not right away, too. I just don't want them to feel slapped in the face, you know?" Michael suggests.

Eleni still frowns, but she nods anyhow. "Whatever you want. Your family, not mine."

Michael chuckles. "Yeah... I'm sorry about that. It must be annoying to you."

"Just as long as it doesn't get out of hand, then I'm okay with it," Eleni replies with a smile. "So, when exactly can we let them know?"

Michael ponders aloud, "Well, the entire family gets back together at the end of August for an end-of-summer barbecue. So we have to keep this act together for a month, if that's all right with you."

As an answer, Eleni steps closer, slips her hand in his, and smiles up at Michael. "Sure, 'future Mr. Crocetti'."

Michael rolls his eyes, but nevertheless he finds himself blushing. "Who says I'm taking your last name?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOH! I don't know about you, but I think Michael might be liking the almost-married life... or will he?????? ;)


	6. but we're coming awake

Eleni rises from her bed, feeling like a wreck from last night. She turns to look at the clock.

 _8:02 AM_.

She groans and flops back down on her bed.

_I only slept for five hours?!_

Before she could settle back into sleep mode, the door swung open and Gabriel screamed, "YOU'RE ENGAGED?!"

Eleni screeched and hid deeper under her covers. "Jesus Gabriel, shouldn't you be at work by now?"

Gabriel rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, leaning against the door frame. "In an hour, yes, but right now, you need to explain to me what the  _hell_  is going on or I'll shave your head."

She scoffs and rips the blanket off herself. "You're so over-dramatic. Who told you?"

Gabriel points his thumb down the hallway. Eleni jumps up and scurries out of her room, her teeth and fists clenched when she sees who's sitting at the dining table.

Luke.

"You asshole!" she cries, grabbing his shirt and lifting him out of his seat.

Luke finishes the pancake he had in his mouth and gulps in fear for his life. "I had to!"

"Why?!"

He smirks. "Because I like messing with you."

Eleni groans and releases him. "Now is not a good time for us to be 'teasing' each other.  _That_ was supposed to be kept secret, not to be used as a joke!"

Luke shrugs. "Sorry, El, but he's your best friend. He was bound to find out eventually."

"Did you tell anyone else?" She inquires quickly. Luke shakes his head.

"Why was your engagement supposed to be kept a secret?" Gabriel asks, slightly angry. "Why does this crusty, pale, white boy get to know about one of the most important moments of your life, but not  _me_?"

Luke pouts and juts out his lower lip. "Hey! That hurts!"

"Well it's true," Gabriel sassed.

Eleni holds both her hands up and yells, "Enough! Let me explain!"

Gabriel and Luke rush to sit down at the dinner table.

She smiles and crosses her arms. "Thank you. Now, Gabriel, I don't know how poorly Lucas described the situation to you-"

Luke sticks his tongue out at Eleni. "Why are you all so mean to me?"

Eleni ignores him and continues. "-but I would like to personally tell you that this engagement you heard about it is a lie."

Gabriel frowns. "That... doesn't make sense."

"I know," Eleni sighs. "Look, Michael explained it all to me."

"Michael is your 'fiance'? Hah!" Gabriel snorts.

Luke pushes Gabriel. "What's wrong with Michael?"

"The girl barely knows him and they're already mistaken as an engaged couple!" Gabriel laughs.

"He apparently was talking to Louis the morning of the wedding and something he said about me in defense to putting me in the family wedding photo. Louis most likely took it the wrong way and assumed that I was Michael's now ex-girlfriend Lucy - whom they've heard him gush about but never knew who she was - and thought that he proposed to me," Eleni explained. "Now all of Louis's family thinks we're about to get married and we have to keep that act up until we meet up with all of them again."

Gabriel furrows his eyebrows. "Um, why? Can't you just call them and be like, 'We're sorry to inform you that your stupid accusations were false and that Michael and I are no where near a couple at all'."

Luke rolls his eyes. "It's not that kind of story, Gabe."

Gabriel leers at him. " _Don't_ , call me Gabe."

"Michael's family is... well... overprotective of him and his happiness. It's complicated to explain, but I understand why he wouldn't want to tell them right away," Eleni says.

"This is some whack situation you've got yourself in." Gabriel shakes his head. "You don't need to worry about it leaking out to anyone else. Blondie and I will make sure no one else finds out."

Eleni smiles thankfully at her friends. "You guys are amazing. Not so much Noodle Boy, but he's getting there."

Luke fist pumps into the air. "Yes!"

"Okay, I have to get to work. Lukey, do you need a ride home?" Gabriel questions.

Luke puts on an offended expression. "Why can't any of you use my actual name? And yes, I need a ride to a friend's house, thank you very much."

Once they left, Eleni sighed, taking a look at the mess they left her on the table. "Can't believe I have to mother them all the time," she mumbles to herself, carrying the dishes to the sink.

While she was washing the dishes after cleaning up the place for a couple of hours, her phone rang. Putting it on speaker, she said, "Crocetti and Teman residence, Eleni speaking!"

A panicked Michael replied, "I have no time to explain, but I ran into family friend and she's wondering why you're not here with me since apparently engaged couples are supposed to spend lunch together all the time! And she's all over me because she's had a crush on me ever since I got adopted! Help!"

Eleni stares off into space with an unamused expression. "First of all, her conception of what couples should do is false. Second of all, why didn't you tell her our engagement is, oh, I don't know... FAKE?!"

She could imagine Michael stressfully running a hand through his hair. "Because it's too late. Already had the congratulatory greeting."

Eleni groans and throws the sponge down into the sink. "Tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can."

 

*~*~*

 

Since Gabriel took the car they shared, Eleni had to take the bus. Why Michael was in Pike Place, she'll have to ask him that later.

Piroshky Piroshky happens to be Eleni's favorite pastry place in the world, so she was glad she found Michael eating her favorite treat in the bakery: the poppyseed raisin roll.

She loosened her shoulders and slipped into character. Standing in front of Michael was a tall girl with dark violet hair and heavy makeup.

"Hey Mr. Crocetti," Eleni greets sweetly, slipping her hands around Michael's waist.

He jumps slightly, but smiles down at her in a sickingly sweet way, and replies, "I thought we discussed I'm not taking your last name."

"It looks like we're going to have to fight about this even longer." She eyes his food and asks unconsciously, "Can I have a bite?"

Michael looks reluctantly at her. She learned from the wedding that Michael's probably the worst person to ask to share food with you.

Surprisingly, he goes with it. "Yeah, go ahead, honey."

Eleni cringes at the nickname, but quickly pastes on a smile and takes a small bite. "Thank you." She turns to the family friend Michael was talking about. "Oh! Hi, I'm Eleni."

"I'm Brooke. Nice to finally meet you. Louis... talked a bit too much about you," she says with a polite smile, although Eleni can tell she's trying to give her the evil eye for stealing "her man".

Eleni tries to keep her smile up. The entire time they're talking, Brooke is nothing but rude to her. She can't blame her, although she should take a hint that if Michael has expressed that he's never had any interest in her, Brooke should really stop bothering him. The dyed hair looks fresh, though, so maybe she's not done trying to win him over quite yet.

"I don't quite understand how you two became a thing. For all my life, not once has Michael introduced you to the family or mentioned your name, not until the wedding." At this point, Eleni and Brooke are in each other's faces. "I don't believe this relationship, this 'engagement'. I don't know why you two are doing this, but I'll make sure that  _you_ ," Brooke points at Eleni's chest, pushing her back a bit, "come out of this damaged and destroyed."

Michael puts a protective arm in front of Eleni and says to Brooke with a growl, "Leave. You don't talk to my girl like that." Eleni frowns and slaps Michael's arm down. She opened her mouth to say something, but Brooke beat her to it.

"Hah! 'Your girl'. Bullshit. I know fake relationships when I see it. I  _will_  expose you two." She sulked off before another word could be said.

Eleni scrunches her eyebrows together and drags Michael into a more private area. "You have no right to hold me back from my own fight."

Michael frowns in confusion. "Am I the only one that heard her correctly? She was going to expose  _us_."

"But she was going to hurt  _me_. The only person who should've been talking back at her should have been  _me_." Eleni exhales sharply and puts her hands on her hips. "I don't know if I can do this for a month. Can you please just call Louis and tell him he truth?" She begged, already feeling tired and upset. Tears were forming in her eyes out of frustration. It wasn't even past noon yet.

Michael's heart drops, seeing Eleni so upset, especially when it was  _his_  fault. A sweet, funny, and  _strong_  girl broken down because of his stupidity.

Deep down, he wanted to this to work out. He had thought it out last night.

He really liked Eleni. Was it love? No, of course not, but it was too soon to tell. If he had that month, maybe she would change her mind. Michael knew it was a long shot, especially considering how different he realized they were every day they spent together. But at the same time, there's no one else he could see himself loving those differences with for the rest of his life than Eleni. Maybe Luke, but Luke's too... Luke, to marry.

Michael forces a smile and holds her hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'll do it. If it stops you from crying, I'll call Louis right now." He wraps his arms around her shoulders and rubs her comfortingly with his thumbs. She releases a long breath and sighs, "Thank you so much. I just think it's the right thing."

Before he could dial Louis's number, the man himself was calling.

"Louis, what's up?"

The second he hears even more sobbing, Michael knows something's wrong. Terribly wrong. His face twists into extreme concern. "Lou? C'mon, what's happened?"

"Gramps... he's in the hospital, Mike. He had a heart attack and he's in critical condition."

Michael's mind goes haywire and he looks down at Eleni apologetically, but she's already heard the news and shakes her head.

This is more important and serious than her situation at the moment.


	7. so we'll be rude

Michael and Eleni are in his car, stuck in traffic as they try their best to make it to the hospital as fast as possible.

Louis couldn't book a flight sooner than they were originally going to come back, which is the 28th. Michael knew his brother could no longer relax knowing his grandfather's in the in critical condition. He hoped Niall was taking good care of him.

On the other hand, all Eleni knew was that Louis held his grandpa close to his heart. She could tell, because after meeting them both, she could see where Louis got his humor from. Eleni was upset that she couldn't let the Tomlinson's know that she wasn't actually Michael's fiancé right away, but right now that concern had to be dealt with later. The last thing this family needs is more sadness, considering they just had a happy moment yesterday.

"Michael?"

He was lost in his thoughts, the only focus he had was on the road. This made Eleni uncomfortable. Unlike him, she felt like letting your thoughts out in the open was a lot healthier than keeping them to yourself. It's why she's always pushed for Michael to tell the truth.

"Michael..." she tries placing a hand on his shoulder, but he doesn't respond. It scares her, but she doesn't try to snap him out of it.

Instead, she gets the message out to Luke and even Gabriel, despite him barely knowing the Tomlinson's, but he at least deserved to know where she was.

After a few hours, they're at a hospital more up north. They check in and scramble up to the correct floor, finding the entire Tomlinson family in a lobby outside of Louis's grandpa's room.

Once Johannah saw Michael, she burst out sobbing and got up to hug him tightly.

Eleni stands there awkwardly, not knowing them well enough to feel the same emotions. Although, she's been in this hospital enough times to understand what they're going through.

"I'm gonna go take a walk," Eleni informs Lottie, giving her a hug before wandering the halls of the hospital.

It doesn't take her long to find the place she was looking for. Next to room 606 is a placard that says, " _Dedicated_   _to Nero_   _Crocetti_ ".

Nero, which is an Italian name that meant "strong", was born on August 21st, 2010, six pounds, two ounces. He was a beautiful boy. Laughter should've been his middle name, because all he would do was giggle.

Until he died a month later due to complicated health problems.

She stared at it in anger.

Eleni had found the gesture sweet back then, but now, it was just a sick reminder that Nero wasn't alive and living his life to the fullest. He would've been almost four this year.

"I miss you," she whispered, kissing her fingers and putting them in the placard, unaware of the tears falling to the floor and the quiver in her voice. Eleni preached the idea of showing your feelings, but as of now, the only thing she wanted to do was hide them. She tucked in her chin and hugged herself tightly, unable to keep herself from crying quietly.

Footsteps passed by her, but one set stood out, as it was loud, heavy, and slow.

"El?"

She gasps. It felt like forever since he's heard Michael say anything, and she's relieved he's talking. But more so, someone found her and was there to comfort her.

Eleni allowed him to put his arms around her waist and felt his head next to hers.

Michael looks around, wondering what was making her so emotional, because it definitely wasn't his grandfather's condition. He saw a familiar name in the wall, "Crocetti". Nero Crocetti.

"Your brother, I assume," Michael says softly, still looking at the placard.

"Died five years ago. He was only a month old..." Eleni explains quietly. Truth be told, she's never told anyone this before, aside from Gabriel. Michael had let her into his family, his life. He deserved the same from her, at least.

He doesn't say sorry or ask any questions. Instead, he just holds her tighter, which is all she can really take right now.

"I know we barely know each other, but I want to be there for you, okay? I want to be your friend," Michael says suddenly. He knows he felt like he needed to say it, to reassure him that if they don't work out the way he wants, at least she'll still be in his life.

She smiles and responds, "You already  _are_  my friend, Michael. No need to worry that I suddenly won't be in your life anymore after all this is over." Eleni turns to face him and sweetly cups his face in her hands. The gesture causes Michael to blush hotly. "In fact, after we end our fake engagement, I might consider you my best friend over Gabriel."

His jaw drops. "Wait... you want to do the whole month? Because I was here to tell you that we could tell them in a couple of days when Louis comes back..."

Eleni shakes her head. "We'll do it how you want to. Besides, this grandpa situation will be too fresh in their minds by then. Like I said, it's your family, not mine."

Michael stares at her in disbelief and laughs joyfully, picking her up and twirling her around. Eleni laughs and squeals, holding onto him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He puts Eleni down and grins. "I  _promise_  you won't regret this."

She pats his shoulders. "I promise I won't ever feel regret for agreeing to be your fake fiancé."

 

*~*~*

 

They were back to where the Tomlinson's were and still waiting to get permission to see grandpa Tomlinson, or as Eleni was told, Keith.

"Hey, I'm here! I heard what happened." Luke slid into view, blended over with his hands on his knees, panting.

Eleni put down Michael's youngest sister, Doris. "Where've you been, Noodle Boy? Stuck in the boiling pot too long?" She asked, swiping a small stream of sweat from Luke's forehead.

Phoebe and Daisy giggle and point at Luke. "Noodle Boy!" they chant.

Luke scowls up at Eleni and stands up straight. "It was fine when it was just you calling me that, now my best friend's family is gonna call me that, too!"

Eleni only smiles and shrugs. "No, really, I want to know why it took you so long. It's been, what, two hours?"

Luke smiles and turns to reveal Gabriel, who has just walked in from the elevator. "I am HERE! Girl, are you okay? How are you?"

Michael frowns. "Luke, why did you bring Gabriel? I don't find it... appropriate."

Luke knits his eyebrows and looks at Gabriel. He drags both Michael and Eleni to a more quite area. "I don't know how deep you have this in your head, but as much as you two want to play this act out, the family, you, and I all know that Eleni's barely known the guy a day."

Eleni nods in agreement. From experience, she's practically a stranger to them. No matter how connected she is to them now, Eleni knows they need time to themselves. "So Gabriel's here to pick me up?"

Luke nods. He hopes Michael would understand, considering how much the blond knew about Michael's feelings towards Eleni.

"I'll wait for you in the car." Gabriel smiles like a loving mother and leaves the pair to sort out some conflicting opinions.

"I better go..." Eleni says, backing away towards the exit.

Michael shakes his head, biting his lip and gently grabbing Eleni by the arm. "I need you here. No one really gets me here." He knows that's a lie and she'll see right through him, but he's trying his best.

"You have Luke and your mother. You don't need me right now, I'll only be in the way," Eleni sighs, not wanting to get in a fight with Michael right now.

"Why wouldn't I need you? You're my fake-fiancé, remember? They're going to get suspicious if you're not here."

"But I shouldn't be glued to your side 24/7! I need to be out there doing what I need to do and be in my place, and right now, this is  _not_  my place!" Eleni argues, trying to keep her tone low.

Michael's head falls slightly and he let's go of Eleni's arm, throwing his hands down in defeat. "I thought what you went through with your brother would be experience enough, but I guessed wrong."

Eleni's mouth falls open, not believing Michael would say such a thing. On the other hand, Michael was unaware of how Eleni would take it. He just thought it would persuade her to stay.

"I don't want to be here because, yeah, I know what it's like. I don't want to be here because I don't want to be reminded of how my brother died with an entire life ahead of him,"she spat out, turning in her heel and quickly wiping her tears away, making sure Michael didn't get a word in.


	8. we'll be loud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gonna be exploring some of the friendships this chapter, just so u (and mostly me) get an inside look on how everybody interacts :)

Gabriel has been Eleni's best friend since the 4th grade. They only became friends because they had the same lucky number and color. After that, it was history.

Eleni was Gabriel's outlet to say whatever he wanted. She was the first person he sobbed in the arms of, the first person he came out to, and probably the only person that has solidified themselves into his life. He's very blessed to have her.

Despite that, Eleni doesn't always like to share her feelings for either personal reasons or her fear of no one caring about how she feels overcoming herself. Even if all she ever does is let people open up to her.

That's why right now, Eleni's rant was a little too out of character for Gabriel to handle.

"Who does he think he is? He can't just expect me to stay in the hospital because I'm supposed to pretend to be this person who's known and loved him for a year, when I've only known the guy for three days! It's ridiculous!" Eleni exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

Gabriel didn't know what to do. He just let her say what was on her mind, hoping she'd stop so he could at least get a word in.

"I swear, sometimes I wish Noodle Head didn't think of me when Michael needed a plus-one. I have a life to live, and he knows I would _never_ let a relationship hold me back!"

"What if Luke just thought of it as a one time thing?" Gabriel inquired. He knows he shouldn't be defending the guy, but Eleni should really cut him some slack. Not everything in the world is Luke's fault.

Eleni groans and runs both of her hands through her hair. "I... I guess that's right. But... I- goddamnit. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so generous as to accept his invitation to be his plus-one, none of this would've happened. I would be stressing out about my career as a dancer, not as a fake wife-to-be."

Gabriel rose from the couch and hugged his friend. "Please don't be so hard on yourself. I know you always want to blame somebody, but the only thing you have to blame is life. You can't keep looking back on what you did with regret." He pulls back and says, "You have to look forward and just go with what you have. Right now, you have friends that care about your wellbeing and a guy who cares just as much, but doesn't know you well enough to realize how to take care of you. Understand that, please."

Eleni smiles and hugs him tightly. "You're an angel. Thank you, I love you."

Gabriel laughs, "Love you too, sweetie."

*~*~*

The Tomlinson's were able to go into Keith's room, but sadly he wasn't awake. On the bright side, his heart rate is back to normal.

Johannah took the kids home when the clock struck eleven and visiting hours were over. Luke and Michael waved them goodbye.

"Eleni should've been here. The girls were wondering where she went. Even Louis had asked why she left when he called," Michael sighed once they were gone.

Luke rolled his eyes. "This is not a situation where you should be seeing Eleni as your fake fiancé, this is a situation in which Eleni is a girl you literally met three days ago. You should be seeing her as just a friend in the end at all times."

Michael hangs his head and kicks at the floor. "I know... I was really hard on her before she left. I wish I could've taken it back." He looked up at Luke and asked, "Should I talk to her?"

Luke shakes his head. "Knowing her, she's probably pissed at you and getting some motherly advice from Gabriel. Give her a day, she needs time to think."

Michael breathes out sharply and flops down in a chair. "Being in a fake relationship is _really_ hard."

Luke laughs and sits down next to him. "I'm glad I don't know how that feels like."

*~*~*

Whenever Eleni is overwhelmed with emotions, she always finds herself in a dance studio.

Dance has always been the best way she could let out how she feels. Not with words, but movements.

She made sure no one was watching from the wall-length glass window on the other side of the room and switched on the speakers to play _U Smile_ by Justin Bieber. She couldn't help it. Bieber is a guilty pleasure of her's, especially the music from his early days.

This year, Eleni has been exploring other types of dance styles aside from hip hop. Ballroom happened to be one of the new classes she was taking this quarter. She got into position, pretended she had a partner, and began swaying around the room on her own. For her final, Eleni had to choreograph a dance in one of the ballroom dances the class has been reviewing. She was chosen to do the foxtrot, and guiltily enough, this was the song she decided to use.

The door opened before she had noticed, which didn't give her enough time to turn off the music and hide her shame.

"All right Gabriel, you got me, I listen to-" When Eleni had turned around, she was not expecting who was at the door.

Luke had his phone up and finished recording. "Aw man, this is gonna be _great_ blackmail in the future."

Eleni frowns and crosses her arms. "Who says I'm letting you leave this place _alive_?"

He rolls his eyes, shoves his phone back down his pocket, and closes the door. "Yeah, like I'm going to believe you're gonna kill me. Face it Crocetti, you've been threatening me for almost a year now and you've done absolutely nothing to me."

She shrugs. "I don't have to. Michael must be enough of a pain to room with already."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, since when did Michael become the enemy here?" Luke frowns in concern. "Are you _that_ mad at him?"

Eleni sighs roughly and runs her hands through her hair. "I'm not, sorry. I just... sometimes my feelings go a little overboard."

"Oh, yeah, I know _that_ ," Luke teases, earning a punch in the arm from Eleni. "Ow! No, really, how do you feel about him right now? Because he wants to talk to you." He sits down in a criss-cross formation and leans his hands behind his back.

Eleni chuckles. Luke and her would always have these moments where they would just stop in the middle of their infamous study sessions and sort of talk about nothing. For some reason, it was always Luke that would initiate it. Exactly like that.

She sits down in front of him and says, "I don't feel bad for acting the way I did. He... he brought up personal things I thought was rude and out-of-line, all just to get me to stay, which is ridiculous, you know?" Luke nods in agreement, encouraging Eleni to continue. "At the end of the day, I'm just his friend. I didn't raise him like the Tomlinson's, and I certainly didn't know him since his childhood like you. I didn't feel comfortable being there and acting like I deserved to."

Luke smiles sympathetically, patting her knee. "Will you be able to talk to him tomorrow? Or should I tell him to give you some more time?"

Eleni chuckles and shakes her head. "No, I'm sure I'll be just fine the next day. I appreciate it, though."

"Good, because you deserve the best, El," Luke says genuinely. "And I mean it this time."

"You're not so bad yourself, Venti Caramel Frappuccino," Eleni jokes.

Luke smiles at her in confusion. "I feel like that's a compliment... then I realized you're just finding really stupid ways to make fun of my height at this point."

He looks up at the speakers and furrows his eyebrows. "Are you playing this horrible song on repeat?"

Eleni replies as she stands back up, "It's the song I chose for my ballroom final. I'm doing a foxtrot."

Luke nods as if he understands what she's talking about, then he drops the face and asks, "What the hell's a foxtrot?"

She snorts, which is something she's never done in front of anyone except Luke, and holds her hand out for him to take. He does so, and inquires, "Um, what now?"

She guides him to put his other hand below her shoulder then places her hand on his shoulder. Eleni looks down and sees Luke's literally standing as far away as possible from her.

"Get closer to me, you idiot," Eleni instructs. Luke makes a whining sound. "But this is _so_ awkward."

Eleni stares at him blankly. "Do it or I'll tell everyone I know that you want to be on _Dancing With the Stars_."

Luke grumbles to himself as he shuffles forward, feeling his body connect with her's. "I don't like this."

She slaps him lightly on the face. "Too bad, you asked for it. Now, lead me."

"Lead you?"

Eleni rolls her eyes. "Right foot back and knee bent, then the left foot meets your right and you stand on your toes, then do the same with your left foot. Take me around like that in a circle."

Luke does as he's told, feeling proud of himself that Eleni hasn't chastised him yet. After finishing one round of the song, Eleni let's go and looks at him, impressed. "Not bad, Hemmings. If you keep this up, I might promote you to be my practice partner for my final."

His eyes widen. "Wait, what?"

"The other requirement of my final is to teach this choreography to someone who doesn't know how to dance and perform it at the dance showcase."

"Can't you just get Michael to do it?"

She shakes her head. "Nah, it'd be too easy. He's closer to my height than you are."

Eleni can't help but snort when Luke responds, "You better not leak the fact that I have some ballroom experience when I become famous enough to go on _Dancing With the Stars_."  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> awww. luke x eleni/lukeni is my fave. they may or may not be a thing in the future... but that's up to you if you think i should do that... ;) comment below what you think luke x eleni's future should be!!! or maybe luke x gabriel???? idk, u choose!

**Author's Note:**

> *plays the start of something new in the background* 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed that first chapter!! i have like seven more that were pre-written so i have all of summer to update you guys weekly! let's see how the two prepare themselves for the wedding next week, yeah? xx


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